December 2015 / January 2016 Volume 141, Issue 2

Central High School of Philadelphia

THECENTRALIZER

THe cenTralIZer

career Day

Page 2manny HounDo

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New Year’s Edition

Meet the New Hall of Fame InducteesJana Pugsley (277), News EditorDespina Evangelopoulos (277)

Proofreading Editor

The Associated Alumni of Central High School held the eighteenth Hall of Fame induction ceremony on October 29, 2015. Guests from the alumni association, school administration, and student body enjoyed dinner at the Marriott downtown before attending the ceremony hosted by Ryan Smith, B.A., J.D. (247). The induc-tion class consisted of nine men, all of whom accepted the honor at the ceremony, with the exception of Eric Owens (247), who had a separate induction ceremony at Central this past spring due to scheduling conflicts. The night’s inductees were Arnold M. Eisen (228), Joseph M. Field (192), Marvin Samson (211), Judge Jed S. Ra-koff (214), Arthur M. Shapiro (220), Leo Braudy (211), Ralph Horwitz (223), and Neil Powe (231). The inductees were leaders in medi-cine, science, research, the arts, and reli-gious and cultural communities. While most of those being inducted stayed close to home and Central, one of the induct-ees, Arthur Shapiro left to study butter-flies in the Patagonian Andes and made a rare trip back to Philadelphia to accept his induction into Central’s hall of fame. Shapiro quotes butterflies and me-teorology as his childhood passions, and he loved exploring nature. During his time at Central, Shapiro participated in the Delaware Valley Science Fair, made it to Nationals, and then to the Westinghouse (now Intel) Science Tal-ent Search in Washington, D.C., where

“Central Lancers! Central Lancers!” ev-ery student, faculty member, and alumnus cheered on the North Lawn on Wednes-day, November 25th. It was the day before Thanksgiving, but more importantly, it was the day before the big homecoming game. The last rally was in the fall of 2006. The 275 cabinet, in collaboration with the Stu-dent Association, worked to bring back the pep rally to get the students hype for the

upcoming game. Rucksar Rahman, 275’s class president, stated, “Since it was our first time doing a pep rally, we didn’t know what to expect. At first, we were going to do it with just the seniors and juniors, but then I thought that wouldn’t be fair for the underclassmen. Ms. Harrington and I convinced Mr. McK-enna to let all students participate.” Because of the early dismissal that day, students covered the lawn by 12:00. Each grade had built its own float to

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Chelsea Tepel (275)Entertainment Editor Bella Baff (276), Entertainment Editor

Jana Pugsley (277), News Editor

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Invited seniors standing with their class sponsor, Mr. Horwits. Inductees receiving their plaques.

he earned a full scholarship to college. Once in college, he stayed true to his childhood interests by pursuing a career as an evolutionary biologist, studying the evolution of life cycles through butterflies. Shapiro’s years of researching the lives of butterflies havealso given him insight into human life. He stated that “that life is a matter of contin-gency; you can and should plan, but never be surprised to be overtaken by events. I certainly was. I was a total Aspergerian geek with no social skills and the physi-cal coordination and strength of a pickled tapeworm -- and still somehow ended up where I am today, working in the High Andes. Don’t assume who you are today is who you will always be. Aim higher.” Shapiro’s love for the exploration of na-ture and the life within it has not faltered, and he claims to have been a “one trick pony” for most of his life. He emphasized the importance of exploring nature, say-ing, “Then it was the Wissahickon; now it’s the high Andes--but in many ways it’s all the same. You’re on your own, face-to-

face with nature. You can’t learn natural history from a book (or a web site)!” After his time at Central, Shapiro went to the University of Pennsylvania on a scholarship and researched ecology. He then studied at Cornell and taught at the City University of New York. Now Sha-piro teaches at U. C. Davis, and has been doing so for the past 43 years. He has recently published multiple papers based on research he conducted while attending Central. Arnold Eisen was also welcomed into Central’s Hall of Fame. Eisen received a Mayor’s scholarship to Penn University and studied Bible. He was then offered a fellowship to Oxford University, which is where he studied abroad to help him un-derstand his family and himself. In making the decision where to go next, Eisen said, “After the Yom Kippur War, I knew I had to spend extended time in Israel — and once I decided to study and teach the his-tory of Judaism, its was clear that Hebrew University was the best place to do that, perhaps the only place.”

Eisen has received two National Jew-ish Book Awards and the Koret Prize for outstanding contributions to the Jewish community. When asked how he felt when he received those awards, Eisen stated, “Writers of every kind are grateful for readers. I want my work to make a differ-ence to people, and am happy when they tell me it does.” Eisen has taught at Stanford Uni-versity, Columbia University, and Tel Aviv University. He has made a differ-ence in student’s lives by encouraging them to study Judaism or other religions. Eisen expressed, “Running into stu-dents by chance, twenty years or more af-ter they studied with me, and having them tell me what my courses meant to them, is one of the greatest things in the world.” Eisen stresses that students should educate themselves in their traditions they were raised with because those traditions, religious or cultural, are go-ing to play a big part in their adult life. A day in the life of Arnold Eisen is very busy, but also very fulfilling. Eisen has to

take on many responsibilities as the Chan-cellor of the Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS), which inolves meeting with the cab-inet, chairman, and other professors. He has time to write a blog, hold and attend lectures, give speeches, and raising money for causes. Although he says it’s exhaust-ing, he enjoys what he does very much. Neil McNair Jr., 275’s Class Treasurer was among the group of students invited to the induction. He stated, “Attending the Hall of Fame Induction was a great honor for me as a student and as the 275 trea-surer. It was a special experience to be sur-rounded by and gain insight from so many distinguished alumni.” Students from Central enjoyed the night as they got to converse and exchange sto-ries about their times at Central with oth-ers that had stories of their own to tell. Alumni, staff, and students all had a great night and will definitely be excited for the next one.

Rock the Red and Gold

Mr. McKenna riding Central’s “horse.”

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Honors for Senior StudentsPH

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Honored 275 students gather for a group photograph.

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On Tuesday, December 8, 2015, Cen-tral held a ceremony to laud the exem-plary work of Central’s 275 senior class. Their accomplishments were heralded by many of the students over the course of their academic careers at Central. President McKenna and assistant prin-cipals Ms. Harrington and Ms. Smith of-fered awards to students who made honor roll and achieved high honors. An impres-sive amount of students were named AP Scholars, or students who received a score of three or higher on at least three AP ex-ams. There were also many National Mer-it Scholarship Commended Students, who were ranked in the top three percent of students for receiving high PSAT scores. Of those students, four from 275 quali-fied as Semifinalists, the top one percent of high school seniors in the country out of 1.5 million applicants. A number of se-niors also received their enamel and silver pins, awarded as recognition for academic achievement in past years at Central. Ms. Logan, the chief academic

support officer of the School District of Philadelphia, revealed what she consid-ers important life advice for the future of a young scholar. Among many other pieces of guidance, she urged that each member of 275 “learn at least one other language” and strive to acquire “not only a vocation, but also an advocation.” Mr. Kahn, Cen-tral’s school historian and archivist, of-fered a bit of lasting advice to the future graduates: “Work hard, play hard, and learn the school song.” The students honored at the convoca-tion conveyed their pride in being able to

take part in the event. “I am very glad that Central takes the time to honor its excep-tional students,” said Ella Comberg (275). Katherine Laub (275) agreed, summing up most of the attendees’ sentiments by sim-ply stating “I feel honored.” Nicole Dem-cenko (275) stated that the ceremony came as a pleasant surprise. She embodied the true spirit of a Central student when she said that “at Central, you just do it and it feels normal. But then you get rewarded for doing it and it’s just so unexpected.”

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new year’s eDITIon

As the first period bell rang on the Tues-day leading up to Thanksgiving, students rushed to class in a rare state of excite-ment. They settled in their seats, waiting to be reassured that the long hours of home-work and grueling rides on SEPTA would be worth it someday. Among the students on this day were those who had walked Central’s hallways in previous years. The alumni had gravitated back to the “dear old High” to tell current enrollees of their success for the annual tradition of Career Day. By fourth period, it was clear that this special day had a meaningful impact on the Central community. Classrooms were filled with speakers. Students were blown away by people like Dr. Jamie Paik (259), an internist and Harvard graduate, and Au-drey Huntington, an operations manager and Yale graduate. Both women were able to tell classes how they had reached their goals and ended up with the positions that they have today. In the Spain Conference Center, volun-teers and organizers were gathered to keep the event running smoothly. Several hours of preparation had been put into making this day happen, so it was only right that the effort be carried out through the next eight hours. Students and guests chatted as equals, covering topics like how to pursue

Zoey Miller (275)Staff Writer

Central’s annual Homecoming dance was held Tuesday, November 24, at Ro-mano’s Catering from 6-10 PM. Students came together to have a great time eating, dancing, and taking pictures at the photo booth. Everyone was involved in making the dance an exciting night. No one was sitting down; everyone was up on their feet dancing the night away in their best dresses and suits. Kyle Quan (278) said, “It was a fun experience and the music was awe-some.” Students who attended the event enjoyed themselves thoroughly as they anxiously waited for the upcoming Home-coming game. Ayana Curtis (277) said, “Homecom-ing was really great and a well-deserved end to the marking period.” On top of all

the fun that happened that night, many students were eager to find out who the Homecoming King and Queen would be. All attendees voted, and towards the end of the night, it was revealed that Jeffrey Cop-lin (275) and Jennifer Perez (275) were this year’s Homecoming King and Queen. Fol-lowing tradition, the two slow danced and were eventuallyed joined by everyone else. Jennifer Perez (275), stated, “This year was my third year going to homecom-ing and I can honestly say it was the best year out of the three. I never thought that I’d win homecoming queen, but it was a pleasant surprise and I wish that the night would’ve lasted forever!” Homecoming brought all students to-gether out on the dance floor. The dance was enjoyable and everybody made his or her own memories. The dance was an enjoyable evening and next year will be better.

Andre Pak (278)Staff Writer

Every day after school in room 308, excluding Fridays and half-days, Ms. Cat-lin hosts the Writing Center, where her “writing fellows” work vigorously to help students enhance their writing. From 3:10 to 4:00, a student can walk in, sit down, and engage in conversations with peers to help resolve any issues that he or she may have with writing an assignment. Reluctant to have someone critique your writing? Don’t fret; Ms. Catlin en-courages students who may be shy or not used to having someone give constructive criticism to come in at least once. “My

job is to be a good hostess,” Ms. Catlin explains. “I invite people in and create an atmosphere where people feel comfort-able and welcome. I want it to feel like a friendly place.” All of the volunteers at the Writing Center are kind and patient people who enjoy writing and are there to help. Whether a student needs help brain-storming ideas, organizing a paper, or just an overall proofread, the fellows will do their best to help the student in any way. “Students usually leave smiling,” Ms. Cat-lin adds. Anyone interested in becoming a writing fellow can talk to Ms. Catlin in room 308. Volunteering as a writing fel-low can help improve writing, and is

rewarded with community service hours. The Writing Center offers all Central students the opportunity to polish and re-vise their assignments with the assistance and advice of helpful peers.

Jamie Razler (277)Staff Writer

In a school as big as Central, sometimes it can be difficult for students to stand out. This, however, is not a problem for Natron Moore (275). He is a star runner for Cen-tral’s cross-country and track teams, an exceptional student, and a natural leader. Although Moore is widely known by the Central community, many students are not aware of another talent he possesses; he is an up-and-coming Philadelphia rapper. “I started in sixth or seventh grade and after I made some pretty good stuff, I expanded and started reaching out to other people,” says Moore on the incep-tion of his rap career. Moore, who is also known by his alter ego Nate the Great, or NTG, has an extended play called Hard To Get and has released several other singles on Soundcloud, a music sharing website. Moore combines his fast, flowing rhymes with an array of different beats, ranging from chill R&B on his single, Long Path, to the dreamlike synths on his song Words.

When asked about his inspiration, Moore names several rappers that influ-enced him like J. Cole and Earl Sweatshirt, but according to Moore, “What really in-spired me to rap were the things that were happening around me--issues that I felt I could only express through rap.” Moore’s advice for other aspiring rappers is to make connections and stick to their own style. Connections are critical in the rap game, and having a good producer can be crucial to a rapper’s success. Moore records his music in a South Philadelphia studio and has collaborated with several other rappers and producers. As for style, Moore has observed many rappers who compromise their own flow or change their lyrics to appeal to a certain audience. “Be yourself. Never try and branch off from your type of music for someone else,” advised Moore. As for the future, Moore has no plans to slow down. “I’m going to take it as far as I can,” he says. Moore will be releasing his highly anticipated EP sometime in ear-ly 2016. His music is available at https://soundcloud.com/guapxntg.

Asa Cadwallader (276)Real-Time Editor

Career Day: Life Beyond Central

the life of a doctor, lawyer, or business-man, and if any of them shared mutual teachers. Looks of empowerment and sat-isfaction not only filled the room, but also the whole building. Jeanette Yust (275), one of the students who was helping out to facilitate Career Day, stated, “One of the things I liked about Career Day the most is networking with all of the different alumni. It’s really nice to see the places that they go to be-yond Central and the places that I’ll go as well.” Throughout the day, Yust assisted speakers to their designated classrooms and offered a genuine smile that only add-ed to the energy of the event. Co-Organizer Ellianna McLaughlin (275), spent weeks in advance contact-ing alumni and teaming up with Jarlyn Silva (275), to make the event possible. “The planning was tedious, but also ex-citing because it allowed me the opportu-nity to make personal connections,” said

McLaughlin. Among the alumni were Jeff Thomas (233) and Barry Rosenberg (229), Vice President of The Alumni Association, who both sat and conversed with numerous students. Thomas, a Certified Public Ac-countant, hoped that students would take away, “an understanding of the fields that we represent and the idea that if they have any questions, they can certainly contact us on an ongoing basis.” The two men of-fered some insight to students about how to handle with their futures. Rosenberg was reminded of the “academic excellence [of Central] that very schools in the coun-try afford their students with.” After a satisfying lunch, speakers either returned hastily to their jobs or lingered around, reminiscing on “those glorious days of old.” When the clock struck 3:04, it was clear that Career Day had been yet another success.

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Central alumni in the Spain Conference Center.

Homecoming Dance 2015

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Homecoming King Jeffrey Coplin and Queen Jennifer Perez dancing during the event.

Natron Moore, CHS Rapper

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Natran Moore (275).

Central Writing Center

Liz Hua (276, on the right) helping a student.

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275 Student Association members with an alumnus

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Turn your ears to the second floor al-cove and you may be in for more than the treat of the sweet smell of food wafting down from the staircase. The playing of the violin rises above the mirthful din of the perusers of the bake sales, and in the center of it all stands the player, Emman-uel Houndo, known by many as Manny. Manny immigrated from Togo when he was in the third grade, and, forced to acclimate to the foreign lifestyle of the US, soon found his calling in music. In the fourth grade, his music teacher intro-duced him to the violin, and in the sixth, he learned to play “You Raise Me Up” by ear. It was in that moment when he real-ized how much he enjoyed performing for people. During the summer, Manny practices at least 4 hours a day. He has never given up because has the mindset of, “getting out there and getting known.” Later on, he

became passionate about and found enjoy-ment in entertaining people. To Manny, the violin releases stress from his aca-demic life. During the fall of Manny’s junior year, Beyoncé shared one of his many fabulous music covers and commented “Amazing!” This post from Beyoncé received more than 98,000 likes and 5,500 shares. The response to Beyoncé’s recognition was a revelation to Manny because he didn’t in-tentionally create the video for her. Since then, Manny does not act from impulse, but thinks about how he wants to view himself and how others will interpret his actions. Numerous people have helped Manny throughout the way, from teachers before his Central experience, to Frantz Cayo from the BET performance. Manny wants to acknowledge their efforts with his ut-most gratitude. Specifically, Mr. Blazer

from Central’s music department provided him with great support in amping his per-formance level. Most importantly, Manny appreciates his parents for keeping him steady and on track. Even on the night when Beyoncé shared his video, Manny’s parents made sure he completed his home-work. Every student is trying to find his or her own niche while balancing academic and social lives, and Manny is no excep-tion. He comments that he loves the violin so much more than ever before. According to Manny, “If you’re not doing anything, you’re not getting anywhere, period.” Manny’s advice is when you make a plan and stick with the plan, simply work hard and practice because that is how you achieve perfection. Do it rather than only dream it.

Bryan Huang (277)Staff Writer

The book I am sharing with you now, as well as books I will share in the future, will not always be sunshine and roses. That being said, I’m hoping that you high-ly educated and mature Central students can handle the kind of content I am expos-ing. One way or another, you’re going to experience it or hear about it, so you might as well read about it first. Choosing the first book to review was far from easy for me. There are many books which have left lasting impressions on me — impressions that I am certain do not only apply to myself. For this rea-son, I believe the books I choose to share should all be special. With that in mind, the first book needs to set the bar. That is why I decided to review The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. This is a book most of you have certainly heard of, even if you only know about the movie. Few novels have achieved such widespread success and even fewer have achieved such a level of popularity while still maintaining critical acclaim. The book itself was published after the death of its Swedish author, Stieg Lars-son, in 2005. Larson was a journalist who focused on far-left policies, which is often visible in his novels. The book is part of a

trilogy that contains two other equally im-pressive books. It’s praised for being very blunt and painfully realistic on several instances. These qualities are what led to its most common criticism — that it is too violent. However, I argue that the cringe-worthy realism is necessary to address the social injustices the novel confronts head on. The violence is not gratuitous, but rather crucial. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo proves a point — the real world isn’t as pleasant as some would lead you to believe. The violence portrays the real world exactly how it is and doesn’t bother to sugarcoat it. One of the main subjects of the book is the debate about gender equality. The book itself was originally titled Män som hatar kvinnor, “Men Who Hate Women.” Up front, it portrays this theme by introducing a female protagonist, Lisbeth Salander, who doesn’t present herself in a way most stereotypes categorize as feminine. The eventual outcome of her conflict is even more satisfying because of how empower-ing it is. I think this is just one more reason the book is so relevant to young people today. Even for young males, this idea of feminist power is important because it gives you a different perspective on so-cial injustices. An important lesson taken from the story is that although oppression doesn’t directly affect you, it doesn’t make it any less of a problem.

It’s difficult to pin this book down into a specific genre due to its wide range of aspects. The book could be seen as one promoting social justice and is geared more towards political stances. While commonly labeled as a mystery, it’s also considered a thriller, drama, romance, or even action novel. This draws an even larger and more diverse fan base. How-ever, this doesn’t mean it was completely accepted by any means. I wish I could say the book was pub-lished without any sort of censorship or influence, but the title of the book was altered. Deemed more marketable and not as offensive, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo stuck more than it’s original Swed-ish title. Rest assured, the content is still as memorable as when it was originally pub-lished. I’d rather not say any more, and let you find out for yourself.

Thanks to the Student Association’s new initiative, Central’s clubs can help the school clean up after itself. Clubs now have the opportunity to design a custom trash can holder as a way of providing a unique and creative solution to curb the spread of litter in Central’s halls. Each club has the choice to submit its individual design for a can that that the SA office will review. If it passes, the design will be printed on a sleeve that fits over a trash can. The driving forces behind the concept of trashcan sleeves were “keep-ing the hallways clean and promoting the clubs,” says SA Treasurer Skylar Scafidi (276). By giving each club “ownership” of an individual trash can, the hope is that stu-dents will be more conscious of their trash and make a stronger effort to ensure that their waste finds its way into their deco-rated receptacles. As an added level of student involve-ment, there is also a contest that runs in conjunction with the can decorations. “Clubs vote on best trash can,” says SA president Albert Tanjaya (275). “It’s a friendly competition where the winners get bragging rights and can choose where they want their trash can placed first.” Coveted

spots are usually around the alcove, main hallways and the lunchroom, as they are high traffic areas. This maximizes club advertising and potential for drawing in prospective members, making the contest all the more competitive. Students expect the club-customized cans to be installed sometime in the near future, as the SA office awaits Mr. McK-enna’s approval for their requisition. Vot-ing on the can sleeves will take place at a later date, likely after President McKenna approves this project.

Ben Folk (275)News Editor

“Given eight oranges on the table, sev-en of them have exactly the same weight and the eighth is a little bit lighter. You are given a balance that can measure oranges against each other and you are allowed to use the balance at most twice. How can you determine which one of the oranges is lighter than the others?” (PACT website) This is a typical question for the stu-dents who pursue the Program in Algorith-mic Combinatorial Thinking at Princeton University. PACT helps educate and chal-lenge students interested in mathematics and algorithms fundamental to the comput-er science field. Brian Mata (275) decided to take that challenge. Brian attended the program for eight weeks over the summer and continues to go back to the campus every other week-end for lessons. Each seven hour lesson is taught by a Princeton professor or vol-unteer speaker. The topics feature simula-tions of real world events that Brian feels offered him a “perceptual advantage” for an introduction to the computer science field. He indicates that “PACT continues to broaden your analytical skills. As in phys-ics, you’re not gonna start throwing balls off of roofs. You need to know how to do it. You need to have the toolset to approach the problem.” The strenuous coursework at PACT requires an extreme amount of devotion. Brian feels that the time and effort that he places into the program is analogous to that which he places in his high school classes. He reached out to this program “because Central does not offer the courses that are presented at PACT.” Brian’s inspiration to major in a STEM career comes from his experience at Cen-tral High School. During his freshman year, he joined Central’s Robotics Team and became acquainted with various as-pects of programming that motivated him to pursue the field further.

“There is a more applied part to com-puter science, which consists of writing programs and functions for engineering in physics. There is also a more theoretical part, which I ended up really liking, which consists of going into algorithms and un-derstanding the fundamentals of how a computer operates. “Say you’re in the U.S. and you’re a travelling salesman. You want to go to all of the major cities. You know the roads and how long it takes to get from one city to another, and you want to design a round trip so that you return to your starting destination in the quickest amount of time possible. That’s a huge unsolved problem in computer science that no one knows the most efficient solution. The only way you would know how to do that is to test every possible solution.” This is just one of myriad obstacles the computer science field faces today, however, Brian feels confident that with commitment and diligence a solution will be found. The PACT program is quintessential to those who are looking to further under-stand the rudimentary concepts of com-puter science.

Brian Davis (275)Jeffer Zhang (275)

Science Editors

Kelly’s Korner Central Gets Trashed

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Beauty Through Music: Manny Houndo

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Manny Houndo (275) playing a violin.

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The SA will decorate these types of trashcans and will make them

available within the school.

Brian Mata (275).

Liam Kelly (275)Staff Writer

Cover is copyrighted material of the Millenium Series

Working With PACT

THe cenTralIZer

Page 4 December 2015 / January 2016new year’s eDITIon

Ashish Dahal (275)Editor-In-Chief

The water fountains at Central often blend into the background. Although these water fountains are plentiful and serve as student amenities, many individu-als simply use them without considering the backstory behind each one. Recently, Central acquired two new filtered water fountains directly as a result of student activism. Due to the fundraising efforts of Teena Simon, Bonnie Zheng, Ashley Coleman, Jada Paris, and Devin Wong (all 275), Central was able to install new filtered fountains on the first floor and in the lunchroom. This water fountain project was headed by the aforementioned students as part of a do-something initiative in the last year’s AP/IB Environmental Science Class. “We were inspired to raise money...we saw how useful it was to the students and the environment because it motivates stu-dents to refill their water bottles, rather than bringing multiple bottles of water to school,” explains Teena Simon (275). In order to raise money to achieve their goal, these students sold CHS water bottles dur-ing Earth Day celebrations in May. How-ever, Teena and her group members soon

encountered a substantial problem: profit-ability. “We realized we could not make enough money simply by selling bottles, so we started a gofundme (crowdsourcing) campaign,” says Teena. This gofundme campaign ultimately en-countered success, raising $1200 over the summer with the support of Central staff, students, family, and alumni. Additionally, the group received an $800 grant from the 233rd class, which wanted to honor its 16 classmates who died prior to a 40th class reunion. By the end, these students raised enough money to buy not one but two fil-tered water fountains for the school com-munity. Ms. Cohen, who teaches the AP/IB Environmental Science class, offered perspective on the water fountain initia-tive. “I’m proud that my students found creative solutions to basic environmental issues,”says Ms. Cohen. “Students need to understand that they can make widespread impacts by themselves.” Now, Central students have access to clean water fountains on every floor, thereby fulfilling an important envi-ronmental initiative. The impact made by the aforementioned group of students can-not be understated.

Monica Volodarsky (276)Staff Writer

The limit is four hundred and fifty people. Through the roar of the crowd and the frantic beating of my heart, these words make their way to me, and heat rises to my cheeks. The capacity of the Philadel-phia Union League’s Lincoln Hall might be four hundred and fifty, but I know that there are no fewer than six hundred indi-viduals packed in the next room, waiting expectantly. The Germination Project Draft Day Gala is just about to begin, and the air is alight with electricity. The peo-ple packed in the great ballroom adjoining our small alcove are some of the most im-portant professionals in Philadelphia, and they are here to see the next leaders of our city. By some turn of fate, I am among the fifteen chosen. I think back to four months ago when I applied to the Germination Project, a program which was described to us as an incubator for Philadelphia’s next generation of leaders. Founded by Ajay Raju, the CEO of Dilworth Paxson LLP, the Germination Project was intended to be a “fifty year love letter” to the city. Ten schools were selected in the Greater Philadelphia region to partake in the Germination Project, each nominating up to three of their brightest sophomores for admission to the program. After un-dergoing an intense selection process in Central High School, Thomas Van Dean, Trang Lam, and I sent in applications to the Germination Project, and were invited to the Dilworth Paxson offices in order to be interviewed. A few weeks after our atypical interviews, it was revealed, to our astonishment, that all three of us were admitted into the program. Now, the three of us and twelve other Student Fellows were anxiously waiting to be officially de-clared the 2015 Student Leadership Class.

Andre Pak (278)Staff Writer

Fruit flies and a food replacement? How can these two be related? The Teen Research Internship Program (TRIP) has just completed its experiment involv-ing drosophila (fruit flies) and Soylent. The program took place at Temple’s Sci-ence Education Research Center over the course of five weeks from July 7 to August 6. There were many scientists and teach-ers who mentored the students as their experiments progressed. Humna Chaudry (276) joined the program to gain experi-ence in the scientific field. She learned about the program from Ms. Truong, her chemistry lab teacher. Ms. Truong sent out an email to students encouraging them to join, this caught Humna’s attention and she proceeded to get involved. In the experiment, each student had to test a substance of choice on drosophila. Drosophila is the scientific name given to fruit flies. They are known to be at-tracted to fruit that have ripened or rotted. Chaudry chose Soylent (a manufactured food replacement) as her substance to see how it would affect the development of the flies and their fertilities. Two times a week, she would go back to the Temple’s research center to work on the experi-ment. When the experiment was drawing close to the end, she said, “My results found that the substance slowed down the development rate and even lowered fertility.” Through this opportunity, Chaudry was able to concentrate on what

Jamie Razler (277)Staff Writer

Doctor Anand of Roxborough Memo-rial Hospital hosted a program in which he selected four students to assist him in his job as an anesthesiologist. Jeechieu Ta of Central High School was one of those students. Jeechieu’s tasks included: interview-ing patients, documenting information, and preparing injection compounds. Dr. Anand also encouraged his interns to be up to date with recent medical discoveries. Jeechieu received the opportunity to work on a new interface for nurses and doctors that allowed them to determine their patient’s heart status from their vital signs, echocardiography, arterial pressure, and wedge pressure. Jeechieu truly experienced what it means to work in the medical field on a day to day basis. “It was so real,” he ex-plained, “It didn’t even censor the drug abusers. I had to deal with people with a straight face and professionalism.” From the variety of memorable les-sons learned and experiences gained, Jeechieu says his favorite moment was when a woman came in looking visibly better than her earlier visit. “It was nice to see such a drastic positive change in such a short amount of time,” Jeechieu says. During his time volunteering at the hospital, Jeechieu felt that he changed as a person. “I feel like I’ve become more hu-mane from living some moments with the patients,” he explains.

Jeechieu also had the chance to work on his social skills. “Networking and speaking genuinely with another person with little history has been a shortcoming I’ve had for a while now.” He goes on to say that working with Dr. Anand was a great way to break out of his shell. Dr. Anand praised Jeechieu’s overall ability and said that he would be hired first out of the other three interns. Jeechieu said that although Central’s curriculum was not particularly relevant to the type of work he was doing at the hospital, he found that the necessary skills he had learned at Central came in handy. “Having a great perspec-tive, thinking critically, and being person-able are all relevant skills I learned at Cen-tral,” Jeechieu reflected. In the coming years, Jeechieu hopes to pursue the new STEM efforts in the sci-entific community. He is keeping an eye out for colleges or universities that include programs dealing with recent progressions that he would be interested in. Any outspoken, fast learning, bold stu-dent who would be interested in working with Dr. Anand can speak with Jeechieu for more information.

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Members of the program smile for a picture.

A Student’s Experience with the Germination Project

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Members of the Germination Project gather for a group photo.

Jeechieu Ta (275).

Senator Robert P. Casey takes the stage and the crowd goes wild. I struggle not to pace back and forth as my mind races. I think of Philadelphia, as it is, now. I think of all of my friends and family that have left the city in search of something more and of the biases, some justified, that have become associated with Philadelphia. I love Philly, but I am aware of the problems that plague it. For a moment, I am intimidated by the responsibility that will be placed upon us to improve the civic future of our city. I am snapped into the present as another Germination Fellow approaches me. I do not remember her name —momentarily, I think I forget mine, as well. But I look into her earnest eyes and I know that our destinies are intertwined; we were both chosen for something greater than our-selves. She points at my clutch and tells me that she’ll hold it for me when I go up. I thank her profusely, my stomach churn-ing as I think about being thrust into the expectant crowd, all foreboding thoughts quickly forgotten. The first name is called, and unconsciously we Fellows line up. We slap each other on the back, smile at the next person up, offer words of reassurance. We find unity in the midst of happy chaos.Before I notice it, my fellows are nudg-ing me forward. I am next, and suddenly

all I can think of is whether I’ll be able to make it to the stage without tripping over my own feet. Eric Berkowitz, the Project Manager for the Germination Project, leans over and asks me if I know who will be representing me. I’ve seen the name on the list. “David Lipson?” I ask, straining to be heard over the excitement. “Yes”, he tells me, “That’s the President of Phila-delphia Magazine. You should talk to him after the event”. My breath catches in my throat, and very clearly I hear my name be-ing called. I do not remember walking to the stage, but suddenly I am there, holding a custom 76ers jersey with my last name on it; a name that my father and his father wore, a name from a land thousands of miles away, a name that nobody had ever thought would be heard in the ballroom of the Union League. As these thoughts rush to me, time stops. The flash of cameras still, and I can only dimly register the brouhaha all around me. Instead, I am transported, fifty years into the future, to a Philadelphia brimming with opportunities and talent, a mecca of success.

(The full Germination article can be found on the online Centralizer website.)

she wanted to do as a scientist. In fact, she said that she wants to conduct the same ex-periment using mice instead of drosophila to get more realistic results to compare with humans. TRIP has taught Chaudry ba-sic skills any scientist would need to know in a lab and also taught her to use scientific material. She learned how to use scientific materials such as pipettes and incubators, how to prepare special food, and the life cycle of drosophila. “Overall, TRIP pre-pared me well for further research oppor-tunities I might want to pursue,” she said. Humna suggested, “If someone is in-terested in pursuing a career in the STEM fields, I would recommend taking this program or something similar.” Central gives students the opportunity to join this

program as it is a learning experience that offers hands on learning skills as well as getting to talk to experienced scientists. Before she joined TRIP, Humna was un-sure about her interests in science. She stated, “TRIP’s goal is to help students fig-ure out whether or not they are interested in pursuing science as a career.” To do this, they allow students to talk to differ-ent types of scientists to learn about what they do and what they research. If you’re interested in science or want more of an experience within the science field, make sure you join the Teen Research Internship Program! For more information, students should contact Ms. Truong in the science department.

An Internship in Medicine

Central’s Got Water

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The new water fountain.

THe cenTralIZer

Page 5 December 2015 / January 2016new year’s eDITIon

If anyone wants to see a case study of the puerile politically correct campus cul-ture that pervades modern colleges, they need only look at the incredible overreac-tion at the University of Missouri. Over a period of months, a few ter-rible occurrences were recorded at Miz-zou — a black student was the recipient of racial slurs from unidentified individuals, and a swastika was written in feces. These events spurred massive protests calling for president Tim Wolfe’s resignation. (In case readers are missing a causative link, it doesn’t exist unless Tim Wolfe draws fecal swastikas in his spare time.) We can trace these protests ultimately to the events in Ferguson, where Darren Wilson, a white cop, shot Michael Brown. There are, of course, a few problems with this underlying cause. First of all, Saint Michael of the Gentle Giantedness (all credit to Ben Shapiro for that particular epithet) was a delinquent who robbed a convenience store, manhandling the store owner in the process. Wilson then ap-

proached him on these grounds, to which Brown responded by attempting to grab the officer’s gun and fight him. In case there is still doubt that Brown was, at worst, justifiably killed, and at best, a thug, the grand jury cleared Wil-son of any wrongdoing. Further, President Obama’s Department of Justice could not find any civil rights violations in the case, and it definitively proved that the common “Hands up, don’t shoot!” moniker had no basis in fact. More broadly, the students issue sev-eral suspect claims about American so-ciety, and such claims deserve their own columns to be refuted. The claim that police officers generally kill black people indiscriminately, for example, is nonsense. If one adjusts for the significantly higher murder rates of black people, there’s ac-tually a slightly higher cop homicide rate for white people. In St. Louis, whose po-lice department has been pushed to take over Ferguson’s, studies have shown that black and white officers shoot suspects at the same rate, suggesting no evident racial disparity. There’s one place where one can cer-tainly and inarguably find discrimination,

though — the nonsensical demands of the student groups at Mizzou and elsewhere. The students formally demanded racial di-versity classes (this is college, folks) and for the percentage of black staff and fac-ulty to be increased to 10% (higher than the black student population at Mizzou, by the way). I was under the impression that colleges should hire professors based on qualifications alone, not skin color. Ober-lin College’s black student group brilliant-ly fit into their demands divestment from Israel — insofar as these activists write absurdities, they might as well include vaguely anti-semitic ones, too. When supporting facts don’t exist, the activists invent them, of course. Jonathan Butler, a student at Mizzou, went on a hun-ger strike after blatantly lying about being hit by Tim Wolfe’s car; he stepped in front of the car, and it’s on video for anyone to watch. The appropriate response to this nonsense should’ve been — starve. These activists have not heeded the Michael Brown ruling, nor will they accept any of the aforementioned claims about the jus-tice system as even debatable. The campus left doesn’t engage in debate; it engages in hunger strikes and sit-ins instead.

Michael Moroz (275)Managing Editor

In 1976, Philadelphia became the city of the underdog when Rocky became a blockbuster film. It spawned a franchise that grossed over one billion dollars and left a tremendous impact on Philadelphia’s culture. However, after the failure of Rocky V and satisfying closure presented in Rocky Balboa, the Rocky series seemed all but completed. With the release of Creed, fans are presented with something unexpected - a story that, although is re-markably distinctive on its own, presents the same challenges and emotional obsta-cles that were found in the original Rocky that made it a film for the ages. In Creed, Adonis “Donnie” Johnson Creed attempts to distance himself from the image of his father, Apollo Creed, who, in the original Rocky series, was the heavyweight boxing champion, a famous celebrity, and Rocky’s closest friend. Don-nie is the illegitimate son of Apollo, and decides to separate himself from the Creed legacy to make a name for himself. To do so, he heads to Philadelphia to find Rocky, hoping that the retired boxer can train him.

Throughout the film, fans will notice familiar elements that make Creed identi-cal to Rocky. Like Rocky, Donnie falls in love with a girl while training, struggles to work cooperatively with his trainer, and faces struggles to find his own identity in an environment where all forces seeming-ly go against him. To Donnie, Philadelphia slowly transitions from a city of hope and opportunity for change to the boxing ring itself. Donnie takes many punches, both literally and figuratively, as he fights his way to be the best. This description of Creed’s basic plot almost makes it sound like an exact copy of Rocky’s plot, and in many ways, is set up for disappointment from fans who were hoping for something new and exciting. However, the film doesn’t save itself in Donnie’s love story or Donnie’s interac-tions with Rocky. The key element to this film that makes moviegoers want to see Donnie succeed is how he must come to terms with his relationship to his father and his father’s image. Donnie’s struggles and victories in Philadelphia are able to physically make him stronger and mentally prepare him-self as he focuses on boxing, but it takes more than just training for Donnie to fi-

nally confront the anger and discontent he had for his father and for being his father’s illegitimate son. Donnie is only able to overcome this ongoing spiritual conflict through the lessons he learns when he interacts with people like Rocky--people that must also face daily battles that take a toll on the soul. It is Donnie’s fight with his father, not so much the fight he faces in the ring at the end of the film, that will stay with fans during and after they see Creed. Lastly, fans of the original Rocky series will be seeing Creed with one question in mind - what ever happened to Rocky Bal-boa? The film does takes an incredible step back to the original Rocky film to revisit the qualities of Rocky Balboa that made him an underdog icon. In the original film, Rocky is honest, devoted, and true to his principles. However, in Creed, Rocky is no longer the same youthful character. He is a well retired boxer that now takes on the role of trainer. He no longer sees life with the same optimism as he once did nearly forty years ago. Rocky must address his own inner conflicts, which include his mortality, failing strength, and ability to keep own going the distance, a common theme in both Rocky and Creed.

Natan Yakov (275)Editor-In-Chief

On November 9, 2015, Tim Wolfe, the President of the University of Missouri, resigned from his position due to the de-mands of several students. The reasoning for his departure branches back to over a year ago. On August 4, 2014, Michael Brown, an unarmed, black, 18 year old male, was shot and killed by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri. Many students from the University of Missouri participated in protests regarding Brown’s death near the city. Over the next year, a series of events occurred on campus to deliberately objec-tify and offend black students and other minority groups at the university. The student body president, Payton Head, who is a black male, had racial slurs yelled at him. A white male intruded upon a school play rehearsal and called students the n-word. Two swastikas were drawn around the campus, one in feces. As the students took notice of the ongo-ing problem at the university, they urged President Wolfe to take action in regards to the hate crimes that were being com-mitted. The students blocked his car from passing by during the school’s homecom-ing parade. Wolfe, however, did not ac-knowledge the students. “Concerned Students 1950,” a group at the University of Missouri, called wrote a list of demands concerning the hate crimes. The organization requested that Wolfe step down from presidency and that the faculty and staff become more diverse in coming years. The students also expressed a desire to incorporate ra-cial awareness into the university’s cur-riculum, and demanded more funding for mental health programs. The list of demands reached Wolfe who again failed to take action. Once the media drew attention to the predicament, students undertook more drastic measures. An alumnus of

from the University of Missouri began a hunger strike on the campus, saying he would not eat until Tim Wolfe resigned. The football team also pushed for Wolfe’s resignation by refusing to practice or play any games until he stepped down. After vigorous protests, demands, boy-cotts, and hunger strikes, Wolfe resigned from his presidency on November 9, 2015. The attention drawn not only to the Uni-versity of Missouri, but also to other col-leges and universities across the country, was caused by the voices of the students. Payton Head addressed the magnitude of the situation in Missouri by stating, “Stu-dents are empowered to speak up about what is happening here, and that is em-powering other students around the nation to speak up about what is happening at their campuses as well.” Because the students raised their voic-es about something that they felt needed to change, the entire country knows what happened at the University of Missouri.

Jamie Razler (277)Staff Writer

A Cause and a Voice

Last year, Central students showed solidarity with Black Lives Matter.

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Photo is copyright of Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc.

In this way, Rocky and Donnie both have to face their own fights while help-ing each other. Rocky is able to provide the mental support Donnie lacks, and Donnie is able to provide the spiritual and physi-cal strength Rocky desperately needs as he encounters complications with his health. This exchange of support between mentor and apprentice is something that the origi-nal Rocky never really presented to fans, further providing to Creed’s uniqueness as both an independent film and addition to a great franchise.

Creed’s ability to be a fantastic film on its own makes it convenient for people who haven’t seen any of the Rocky mov-ies to still be able to understand the plots and themes that were presented in the Rocky movies. Creed will definitely leave audiences cheering when Donnie deliv-ers powerful punches, heartbroken when Rocky mourns the loss of his friends, and hopeful once more when the protagonists overcome the famous steps preceding the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

“Creed” Is A Knock-Out Film For All

Racism in MissouriA Case of Overreaction

Page 6 new year’s eDITIon December 2015 / January 2016

THe cenTralIZer

Interdependence amongst countries in the world today has opened up numerous opportunities for future leaders to learn languages outside typical choices such as Spanish and French. Teaching foreign languages has recently become one of the top priorities for many educators, and students continue to gain more exposure to different cultures. However, if instruc-tors are to preach about the importance of diversity and the equality of communica-tion, how can we blatantly ignore Ameri-can Sign Language, which is spoken by millions of people around the world? Recently, American Sign Language, or ASL, has become a choice in foreign language education in universities across the country. This brings forth the ques-tion — what exactly is language? Al-though many people believe that writing and verbal communication are the most important factors in defining language, American Sign Language evidences the contrary. Thus, schools should seriously consider teaching ASL as part of language curriculums. There is an undeniable truth that the word “language” is in the term sign lan-guage. So, why is it that a language used by over 360 million hearing disabled peo-

ple worldwide (according to the World Health Organization) and ranked 4th in popularity within American Universities is not legitimate enough for a high school setting? Dominance in the “grown-up” world of tomorrow requires an individual with impeccable determination and the ability to communicate with people of different worlds. Now, let’s be real for a second here — any studious high school student, or a Central student perhaps, is always trying to become that “well-rounded per-son” that colleges so desperately seek. Becoming a gem in a pile of rust seems to be the main goal, and having an expertise in speaking ASL is highly valued amongst many employers considering its rarity. Simply put, adding the factor of knowing sign language to any equation can ulti-mately make you that special gem. If one were to agree that sign language is indeed a language, then teaching it in schools would be highly beneficial, just as any other foreign language is. Further-more, numerous studies conducted by the CollegeBoard have proven that students who study a foreign language perform higher on standardized testing than those who do not know a second language, at the least. For example, a study conducting by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ASTFL) in 1992 found that high school students who stud-

Darya Bershadskaya (277)Staff Writer

(Rock the Red and Goldcontinued from page 1)

present at the rally. As students made their way to the sides of the pathway, Mr. McK-enna rode up on a Lancer float, looking eager and proud to be a Lancer. The other classes followed with their own floats, starting with the freshmen float and ending with the senior float. The floats varied in color, presentation, and some representa-tion of a lancer defeating a viking. Grace Del Vecchio (277) comment-ing on her float-making experience, saying “Through working on the 277 float, I was able to truly see the incredible talents that my class has. From the small float commit-tee’s discussion of 277’s accomplishments worthy of portrayal on the float; accompa-nied by the vibrant atmosphere of the rally in it’s entirety, I can wholeheartedly say that my first ever experience of a Central pep rally was a smashing success.” After all the excitement around the floats had settled, Central’s ASU began its dancing performance. They started with “We’re All in This Together,” which made the everyone feel sentimental and pumped, and eventually broke out into extremely fast paced dances. The whole crowd was cheering, dancing, and singing along. Pep Squad followed with an outstanding per-formance, but of course, nothing less was expected of them. Students pushed their

way up to the front along with the alumni and teachers to get a view of the action. Following the dance, the homecom-ing court was announced, and King Jeffrey Coplin and Queen Jennifer Perez were ap-plauded by the students. The most antici-pated moment finally came as the football players ran up to the middle of the pathway and huddled together, getting pumped for the game. The crowd followed with cheers and excitement, showing extreme pride for Central and the players. Kyling Spaulding, (275) a player on the football team commented, “ I felt re-ally proud to be a Lancer and I enjoyed the fact that everyone came out to show their support for us and to exhibit their central pride. Even though we couldn’t get the win on thanksgiving, I’m very happy that everyone showed love at the rally and on Game Day.” The pep rally was an amazing way to get Central’s school spirit noticed. Snapchats and tweets following the rally expressed excitement and spirit, with cap-tions like “love my school’s spirit,” and “so proud to be a lancer!” As the rally drew to a close with our one and only school song, dedicated to our dear old high, as well as a chant of “Rock the Red and Gold,” it was obvious that the pep rally was a huge suc-cess. Once a Lancer, always a lancer!

“Is That Even a Language?” featuring ASL

ied a foreign language consistently scored higher on the ACT than students without foreign language education. Introduc-ing ASL into high schools would be yet another tool that could significantly help normalize the image of students with dis-abilities as well as improve performance on standardized testing. The topic of teaching ASL to high school students often boils down to the concern of its legitimacy in a for-eign language department. Furthermore,

American sign language is specifically spoken on American soil as it differs from other forms of sign language such as BSL, British Sign Language, or LSF, la Langue des Signes Française (French sign language). Therefore, there is much speculation on how valuable this dialect can be. Other problems arise when con-sidering the oral and physical aspects of ASL since it might not bring forward the common academic benefits of standard-ized testing, as previously mentioned.

Evidently, the final decision is ultimate-ly dependent on school administration. However, after conducting a non-scientific poll on Twitter asking students if they would take sign language as a foreign lan-guage course in school, if available, 71% of voters said “yeah that’s cute,” while 29% said “nope.” It’s quite clear that many individuals at Central understand the mer-its of ASL and a world beyond words. So Central, what do you say about sign lan-guage as a foreign language class?

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Members of Central’s new Sign Language Club (From left to right, 275 members): Anh Nguyen, Maria Nguyen, Raymond Liu, Lee Mai, Alexander Lam

Central students cheering.

Abdelrahman Elabd (276)Staff Writer

Recently, several European countries including Hungary, Austria, and Croa-tia, as well as U.S. states like Michigan, Texas, and Florida, have closed their bor-ders to the millions of refugees escaping the civil war in Syria. Leaders in these re-gions state that the refugees are not worth the expenses and also claim that terrorists can easily disguise as refugees. What these leaders fail to understand is that this is a humanitarian crisis. Regardless of our na-tionality or our economic status, it is in times like this that we must help our fel-low man. Syria has transformed into a liv-ing hell over the past four and a half years. In order to understand the escalation of violence since 2011, it is important to realize that the Syrian conflict is not a traditional war. What began as peaceful protests turned violent when security forc-es opened fire on demonstrators and has since transformed into full scale fighting between different ethnicities and religious sects. Syrian citizens now face abductions by both their government and militant groups, chemical warfare, and full-scale genocide. To stay in Syria is to ultimately die. The gargantuan scale of violence is due to the plethora of militant groups in the country, each one with its own array of motives within Syria. On one side of the war are the Sunni rebels, made up of the Islamic Front, ISIS, and Jabhat Al-Nusra, Al-Qaeda’s affiliate in Syria; all aim to overthrow the Assad regime and displace the Shi’ite groups. Yet, they insist on mur-dering each other and any civilians who oppose them. On the other side of the spectrum stands Assad’s mainly Shi’ite regime, backed by smaller groups and a Syrian guerrilla group called the National Defense Force. Somewhere in the midst of this chaos is the original Free Syrian Army, formed in an attempt to overthrow Assad and estab-lish a democracy in Syria. The Free Syrian Army is largely backed by Western gov-ernments.

Offering Our Aid to Those in Need

With this information, it becomes easier to understand the large scale vio-lence in Syria. The UN has estimated the civilian death toll at 220,000 people, with more than 70,000 casualties encompassing women and children. Syrians live in con-stant fear of being interrogated by, killed by, or forced to fight for whatever mili-tant group is in the neighborhood. Thus, 11 million Syrians — half the country’s population — have fled their homes since the beginning of the war, 7 million being displaced within the country and 4 million migrating out of the country in one of the largest mass exoduses in history. We must break the historical trend of well-off, economically and politically sta-ble countries refusing war refugees under the pretense that those refugees constitute a threat to the State. The claim that there will be terrorists amongst refugees seek-ing asylum from Syria is analogous, if not identical, to the claims Americans made about German Jewish refugees during WWII. A 1939 poll that asked if America should accept 10,000 Nazi refugee chil-dren showed that 60% of Americans an-swered no. Needless to say, there were never any terrorist attacks on US soil by Jewish German refugees during WWII. The security measures and screenings in place for refugees coming into coun-tries like the US are more than adequate; for example, Pennsylvania’s refugee vet-ting process involves a very thorough col-laboration with the federal government that takes an average of 12 to 16 months per applicant refugee. In a letter defend-

ing Pennsylvania’s decision to accept refugees, Governor Tom Wolf stated that the screenings include an in-person inter-view, health and biometric screening, and involvement from anti-terrorism agencies such as “the National Counterterrorism Center, the FBI’s Terrorist Screening Cen-ter, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of State, and the Depart-ment of Defense.”(Associated Press). The task of weeding out potential threats to the state is in more than able hands. Indeed, Western leaders who claim that taking on Syrian refugees will be a strug-gle for their countries haven’t known real struggle. It’s easy for first-world citizens to become desensitized to the situation in Syria. Syrians are real people whose fam-ily members are shot, bombed, kidnapped, and beheaded on a daily basis. We allow ourselves to be preoccupied with fatuous discussions about tax policy and mari-juana legalization, yet fail to recognize the real problems in the world. It is time to stop making excuses. If the right measures are taken, Syrian refugees do not constitute a threat. Furthermore, any capital spent on the welcoming of Syrian refugees is a small price to pay for the liberation of our fellow man; it takes a complete lack of human empathy to dis-agree. It is time for the first world to set a humanitarian example for future genera-tions, bear the responsibility that comes with being world leaders, and fulfill its blatant moral obligation to help humanity. For if humanity doesn’t help itself, it truly has no hope.

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Graphic representation of the Syrian refugee crisis.

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Page 7 December 2015 / January 2016

THe cenTralIZer

new year’s eDITIon

Have you ever walked into class one day to discover there was no substitute teacher? Have you ever had a substitute that could not teach the subject? These events are occurring in many school districts across the United States. The School District of Philadelphia being one of them. In June of 2015, Philadelphia contracted with Source4Teachers, a web-site that allows school districts to choose their substitutes from a list of those avail-able. Philadelphia had 1,100 teachers that were qualified substitutes, or teachers that had substituted at least once before. Re-turning substitutes were surprised to see that this new method of acquiring teach-ers had caused their pay to decrease dra-matically. A substitute teacher from Mt. Airy explained how the new pay rate he was offered was 37% of what he and other “veteran substitutes” were accustomed to. The effects of the pay difference can be seen in full effect as most schools reach the third or fourth month of their school year. Veteran subs are refusing to work because they value what they do more than what the district is willing to pay them for it. This forces full-time teachers to work extra for the absence of subs. At Central, there have often been occurrences in which a teacher was ab-sent and other full-time teachers in the

department had to give up their lunch or prep period in order to look after the class. The pay cuts that substitutes are receiving are due to the School District of Philadel-phia’s budget crisis. Substitutes are being offered a daily rate of $90-$110. According to the “veteran” teacher from Mt. Airy, this pay rate only helps new teachers because they are starting off with a higher daily rate than the $75 that first time substitutes used to make. The Mt. Airy teacher went on to say that last school year he was mak-ing $239 a day. School districts around the U.S. are undergoing similar budget crises. This is not only a dilemma for sub-stitute and full time teachers, but also for students. Many Central students have also had bad experiences with substitutes. This year alone, countless students at Central have complained about having an unquali-fied substitute, or sometimes no substitute at all. “It was frustrating because we were

not learning the material we needed. The not learning the material we needed. The students created a commotion because there was no clear authority in the class-room, which only further prevented my learning. Now I’m behind where I want to be and should be,” recalled Kaila Caffey (277) about an extended period without a teacher last school year. Absences for teachers typically in-creases from November to the end of the school year, according to Kelly Graham, an Inquirer staff writer. She explains that on some days over 400 Philadelphia classrooms can be missing a teacher. We are reaching the fifth month of the school year, but if the school district does not ad-dress the shortages of teachers and their pay, this crisis will only continue, adding more problems to the ever growing list that the School District of Philadelphia must resolve in order to better the future of its students.

Isabella Ryan (276)Staff Writer

At Central’s recent annual Powderpuff game, the seniors defeated the juniors by a score of 24-18. Although powderpuff is a well-established tradition, it raises discus-sions about the derogatory nature behind the event. In the past, Powderpuff games were charity touch-football games played for entertainment, often including male football players dressed in cheerleader uniforms. In many cases, the teams were separated based on physical features like hair color. The name “Powderpuff” is as-sociated with the assumed femininity of the players. When one of the players, Chelsea Tepel (275), was asked about the name, she responded, “I don’t really mind it because at our school, the game is not offensive. It’s more like a tradition, but at the same time I don’t see how it has any correlation to football.” The word originates from the makeup tool that was widely-used by women at the time of the game’s creation and the height of its popularity in the twentieth century. Because of this so-called innate femininity that the players possess, the game’s rules

have been softened. The game appears to be a way women can participate in a typi-cally-male sport, but in truth, it perpetuates the gender roles and stereotypes created by our society. One might ask whether the purpose of a Powderpuff game is to make fun of the seemingly “ludicrous” idea of girls playing football. The players must question wheth-er the audience is laughing at them or with them. The presence of male cheerleaders makes it clear that the spectators are mock-ing the supposed silliness of the situation, as if girls playing football or boys cheer-leading is something to turn into a joke. Powderpuff at Central is a much more modern, inoffensive version of traditional Powderpuff games. The only characteris-tics that Central’s rendition does not differ from are the female players and the event’s name. Nothing about the game screams “sexism” except for its name. One of the players, Taylor Somers (276) recalled, “Our coaches knew that our team had strong opinions and wouldn’t just brush things off if they said something sexist to us, so we never really had a problem in that area. At other schools, this event could be more sexist and they could talk down to the girls who are willing to play.” The degrading nature of the Powderpuff

phenomenon has been widely criticized, and many schools and school districts have banned the event in recent decades. Depending on one’s location within the country, Powderpuff is more or less an outdated tradition. However, the memories of the game’s chauvinistic history cannot be put to rest while its name still remains. Marcela Rolón Dow (277) is hesitant about playing in Central’s game next year, stating, “I’d love to participate in the Pow-derpuff game next year, but I don’t know if I’m comfortable with the associations that come with the name. Although I know Central’s version of the event isn’t sexist, I don’t like the fact that it shares its name with a derogatory and outdated practice.” In this period of time, when feminism is becoming increasingly more popular amongst younger generations, how is it possible that we allow the school to con-tinue with a tradition that has qualities of the blatant sexism of past decades? Sim-ply holding an annual girls’ football game is harmless, but the name implies that the chauvinistic aspects of the game are still alive. Fortunately, the annual junior-senior Powderpuff game are focused on reflecting Central’s longstanding traditions of class pride, school spirit, and friendly competi-tion.

Jana Pugsley (277), News Editor Dylan Lewis (277), Staff Writer

(Honors continued from page 1)

Though working sedulously is com-mon practice at Central, there is evident reason to commemorate 275 for its ac-complishments. The class has excelled academically and, as Mr. McKenna stated, “also serves as a role model to the lower classes.” 275 has completed three long, arduous and ultimately successful years at Central High School. Members of the class are be-ginning to receive college acceptance letters

in the mail and are moving on towards the next stages of their education and careers. The honors convocation was only the be-ginning of the commendation the class will receive. “This day starts the whole swing to graduation,” declared Ms. Har-rington. “The next time we call out names will be at graduation.” 275 has brought great pride to Central, and the recognition it received at the honors convocation can-not begin to rival the good the class has done for the school.

Substitute Teacher Crisis

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A typical Central class.

Powderpuff—Tradition or Offensive?

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Seniors and juniors engaged in a tough game of football.

Car Talk: In Yust We Trust

The feud between Yearbook and Cen-tralizer is one for the books. This year, Yearbook beat out Centralizer in holiday spirit when they transported a five foot tall Douglas Fir from Roxborough to Central (please, it’s a Holiday Tree™, this is a non-denominational school, people). This event is sure to go down in history, and it wouldn’t have been possible without the help of Jeannette Yust’s (275) Volkswagen Beetle. This car certainly comes with its faults (we’ll get to those) but it also comes with its perks—it’s a tiny car for a tiny woman that just screams, “I care more about aesthetic appeal than the environ-ment!” Step into Jeannette’s car and you will feel like you’ve arrived for your first day at a really nice preschool: there are fake flowers, and everything is small, pastel, and smells like crayons. A passenger’s first thought might be that the Crayola™ smell comes from one of the many chil-dren Jeannette is always with, but it is in fact a gas leak. We are all inhaling gas that makes the car smell that way. It’s just one more high point of her car and makes rid-ing in her care more enjoyable. AP Environmental students, listen up. This one’s for you! In Jeannette’s car, pas-sengers can enjoy an interactive experi-ence with the Clean Air Act violations committed by Volkswagon with just one short ride. By the way Volkswagon, expect to hear from our lawyers soon. What she lacks in air quality, Jean-nette makes up for in vibes; Yust has the perfect taste in car tunes. At any given point in time she will have the latest and greatest Drake song playing from her tiny Beetle speakers. Her car is equipped with an AUX cord which most Central cars seem to lack, and her car’s music selection is not limited to mainstream rap. She has

the entire Taylor Swift discography and is always ready to sing along.This driver is a proud member of the Pennsylvania Girl Choir and a local celebrity who has per-formed as a backup singer for the greats like our very own Bobby Hill (278). What’s more, the convertible nature of the car allows wind to flow through your hair while you listen to her sweet tunes. Of course this can be embarrassing when you are a six foot two inch man and Jean-nette decides to play Taylor Swift in North Philly. However, when you’re just a few beautiful teenage girls listening to the Beach Boys with the top down, you can make even route 76 feel like the 405. Jeannette Yust does not drive reck-lessly; as a matter of fact, it has been Car Talk™ tested that you can stick your foot out the window while driving in Jean-nette’s car, and nothing bad will happen. As someone who is kind of nervous when she drives, Jeannette’s sure to not do crazy turns in the parking lot in order to show off. While she may not know how to paral-lel park, Jeannette doesn’t find this a prob-lem since she only ever drives to Target. This pastel Beetle is surprisingly roomy. The leather seats can only legally accommodate five people but we, the Car Talk reviewers, have definitely put that limit to the test, once fitting a full seven people (please don’t arrest us). While it’s no Hummer, there is just enough leg room to make for a comfortable ride. Jeannette’s car could probably star in the reboot of the Disney hit, “Herbie: Fully Loaded” because of just how dang cute it is. If there ever was a car that could fit a person’s personality, this is it. While very small, it was still a force to be reck-oned with on the road. In a culture where “bigger is better,” Jeannette Yust proves that maybe the best way to live big is to drive a tiny car.

Ana: 8/10 CrayonsThomas: Strong 7/10 Holiday Trees™ Ella: 7/10 hazardous emissions

Ella Comberg (275)Thomas Davidenko (275)Ana Deluca-Mayne (275)

Staff Writers

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Ella Comberg (left) and Jeannette Yust (right) posing in front of Yust’s car.

Page 8 December 2015 / January 2016

THe cenTralIZer

new year’s eDITIon

Editors-in-ChiEf

Ashish Dahal (275)Natan Yakov (275)

Managing Editor

Michael Moroz (275)

assistant Managing Editor

Zoe Braccia (275)

nEws Editors

Ben Folk (275)Jana Pugsley (277)

EntErtainMEnt Editors

Bella Baff (276) Julia Garman (276)Chelsea Tepel (275)

Layout Editors

Xu (Eric) Lin (275)

sports Editors

Baktiar Choudhury (276)Skylar Scafidi (276)

sCiEnCE Editors

Brian Davis (275)Jeffer Zhang (275)

proofrEading Editor

Sophia Berg (276)Despina Evangelopoulos (277)

Kelvin Lu (275)Anna Pugsley (276)

Kate Orlovskaya (275)George Russell (275)

op-Ed Editors

Kaila Caffey (277)Miguel Morel (276)Olivia Spratt (275)

photography Editor

Aileen Lo (275)

rEaL-tiME Editor Asa Cadwallader (276)

finanCiaL advisEr

Mr. Brian Howland

faCuLty advisEr

Mr. John McElhenny

printEr

Susquehanna Printing

prEsidEnt of CEntraL high sChooL: Mr. McKennaEmail us: chscentralizer@gmail.com

THECENTRALIZER STAFF

Follow us on Facebook: The Centralizer

Follow us on Twitter @The_Centralizer

Check out the NEW website: thecentralizer.com

Lancer Records(At the time of printing)

Varsity Football: 4-1Boys’ Soccer: 7-1Boys’ Golf: 12-4

Boys’ Basketball 3-3Boys’ Wrestling 2-0

Girls’ Basketball: 2-1Girls’ Soccer: 7-0-2Girls’ Tennis: 14-5

Girls’ Volleyball: 9-0Girls’ Field Hockey: 3-3-1

Swimming: 1-0

The rambunctious sea of crimson and gold simultaneously chanted, “BEAT NORTHEAST!” The intense football game on Thanksgiving revved up the spirit and fervor of the Central Lancers. Stu-dents from all grades, parents of all ages, and even the most prestigious alumni at-tended the Homecoming game to support Central’s football team. On every Thanksgiving morning since 1892, the Central Lancers and the North-east Vikings challenge each other to an electrifying all-American game of foot-ball. This year, the match occurred on No-vember 26th which, for many, kick-started the Thanksgiving holiday. The game delineated the core of Cen-tral’s pride by boasting about the school and loving everything Central embodies. Chris Carson (277) attended the game and stated, “Since my parents went here, Cen-tral is in my blood, so it’s an amazing feel-ing to know that I’m not just carrying on a century old tradition, but also one that’s in my family as well.” By halftime, the vehement stands cheered wildly as the ferocious Lancers are winning 20-18. Not only do the fans create everlasting experiences, but the

Serene Schwartz (277)Staff Writer

For the past twelve years, the Central Girls’ Varsity Soccer Team has played its rival team, Franklin Towne Charter, in the Philadelphia Public League Championship game. For the past four years, Franklin Towne always ended victorious. This year, the Central soccer girls were determined that this season would have a different ending. The first time they played Franklin Towne, the game ended in a smashing tie, thus instilling a great deal of confidence in the players that certainly wasn’t in them at the end of last season. Sadly, on November 2nd, the girls played Franklin Towne in the championship and lost to them yet again. Although this was a despairing loss, the game was an incredible fight. The game ended 2-1, but the first goal was scored by Central within the first thirty seconds of the game. Though the high quality of the game was an encouragement to the team, the

Grace Del Vecchio (277)Staff Writer

Training to Reach A Championship

We Bleed Crimson and Shine Like Gold

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Quarterback Jeffrey Coplin (275) attempting a pass.

Spectators watching from the sidelines.

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stars of the game generated life-changing memories. “Looking back on all of the home-coming games, I will always remember the screams coming from the fans in the crowd,” said Nasir Womack (275), a de-fensive end and tackle. The players may be far on the field, but the expression of eternal support from the school they love is one that they will remember for life. Na’eem Allen-Stills (275), defensive line, recapped his last year of high school football by stating, “This was a turnaround season that set a precedent for the upcom-ing years, making us a playoff-ready team

with high hopes for future champion-ships.” The players created a family when they spent every day with each other to train and strive towards their goal. “It wasn’t just football. We’re family. Those players are my brothers,” remarked quarterback Jeffrey Coplin (275). Central continuously fought and improved tre-mendously from last year, making it into the playoffs. Although the team did not win to proceed further into the playoffs, the future of Central’s football team con-tains a promising destiny filled with deter-mination and triumph.

loss of their sole senior player was some-thing that would not be taken lightly. “We had a great year. Good luck to the team next season” said Katie Klenk (275). The captains, Romie Azor (276), Dja-von Dupree (276), and Lilliana Greene (276), fully intend to lead the team to receive the most deserved win next year.

Romie Azor, the player who scored the one and only goal scored by Central against Franklin Towne, commented, “We are a big team with many girls. But who said family is small? And that is what these girls are to me - family. Every ace or sweat wasn’t wasted because everything I gave to the team, the players surpassed the stan-

dards and kept pushing. The season may be over and we are losing an instrumental senior, but there is always next year. “ The team ended the regular season with a record of 11-1, with the only loss against Franklin Towne and went on to win two playoff games before falling short to Franklin Towne in the championship.

However, the team was not discouraged by the loss. Instead, the players are full of anticipation to return to the field and show Franklin Towne what they are truly capable of next season.

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)The players warm up before an important match. Girls gather after an important victory.

The Lancers and Vikings clash on the field.